32. Hatred conceived in their hearts arose in them. Such phrases are
common in our author, as ‘olie in trewðe geuen,’ 212/512; ‘song . . . on
soðe sagen,’ GE 14. On the other hand such expressions as ‘drugte
numen,’ 201/161; ‘sorge numen,’ GE 368, where the participle is used
like L. captus, suggest taking it here in dependence on #hem#. With #on#
comp. 210/454.
35, 36. ‘Nel feron mie, | ce sereit desverie,’ Joseph 273.
37. #drempte#: impersonal with two accusatives, Quatso and him; so too
at 200/103, 202/170, and probably at 201/149: more commonly the thing
dreamt takes of, or is a clause, 200/113, 120, 201/132. #ðor quiles#,
whilst: see 196/648.
38. #cisternesse#: the MS. has ðisternesse here (it occurs correctly at
GE 58), and ‘ðis ðhisternesse’ at GE 66, where ‘ðis’ is in excess, and
cisternesse at l. 56. The original had, no doubt, cisterne or cistern in
both places, and in this line probably In cisterne ðise, imitating
‘proiicite eum in cisternam hanc,’ Gen. xxxvii. 22 (comp. ‘He ðrowede
and ðolede untiming ðat,’ GE 1180): having blundered here, the scribe
altered cistern l. 56 in conformity, spoiling the metre.
39. #Get#, still, in spite of his dreams. Above #e# of #wurðe# a small
he is added in the MS.
40. The phrase #owen a wold# means, to have in one’s power, like its
synonym hauen a wolde (see 52/387 note); it occurs in its literal sense
at 200/108, distressing dreams were responsible for that, and in ‘Luue
wel michil it agte a wold, | Swilc seruise and so longe told,’ GE 1671,
very strong love was capable of such hard service and so protracted.
Here it has the derived sense of import, mean, like power, force used
for meaning expressed by letter or phrase: comp. ‘Quat oget nu ðat
for-bode o wold,’ GE 324, what now was the import of that prohibition;
‘And vndernam him ðat it agte awold,’ id. 2727, and questioned him as to
what it meant; ‘ðor is writen quat agte awold, | ðat ðis werld was water
wold,’ id. 525, therein is written what it signified that this world was
destroyed by water.